Electoral College outdated; count each citizen's vote

U.S. citizens will elect the next president and vice president in
November. There are individuals who might not be aware that the
election system does not permit citizens to directly elect the
president and vice president. It is the Electoral College that elects
both. It is important to understand what the Electoral College is and
how it operates.

The Electoral College was created at the Constitutional Convention
of 1787. Direct popular elections were excluded because it was
physically difficult to conduct a popular vote in the 18th century.
There was no nominating system, and political parties did not exist in
1787. At the time, only adult white male landowners were eligible to
vote. There was a fear that direct popular-vote elections would
encourage state governments to allow unsuitable voters in order to
maximize the states' influence in presidential politics. The Electoral
College was first written into federal law in 1845 to designate
citizens who were selected to vote for president and vice president.

The
Electoral College consists of 538 electors. Each state has a number of
electors equal to the number of senators and representatives in
Congress. The District of Columbia is given the number of electors
equal to that held by the smallest states. According to the U.S.
Constitution, each state has the authority to nominate and choose its
electors. The popular vote in each state is used to appoint electors.
Each elector casts one vote for president and one vote for vice
president. A candidate must have a 270-vote majority of the Electoral
College in order to be elected; if not, the choice for president is
made by the House of Representatives. If a candidate for vice president
does not receive a 270-vote majority of the electoral votes, the Senate
makes the choice.

The national popular vote is not significant in
determining the outcome of an election. It doesn't matter how many
people turn out to vote, because the Electoral College eliminates any
advantage a political party has in encouraging voter turnout. Under the
current system, it seems that candidates campaign to maximize electoral
votes rather than the national popular vote. If the presidential
election were decided by popular vote, there would be a strong
incentive to work at increasing voter turnout.

An individual
under the present system can be elected president based on the
Electoral College even though the opponent receives the majority of
popular votes. For instance, George W. Bush was elected president in
2000 due to the electoral votes, yet Al Gore received the majority of
popular votes.

Harry Siegel, on Politico.com, speculated on June
18 that in the 2008 election, the candidate who receives the most
nationwide popular votes might not become president.

The concept
of electing a president directly by the popular vote has been the basis
of a desire to reform the system. For instance, the "Agreement Among
the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote," also known
as the Amar Plan, is an interstate compact whereby individual states
agree to give their electors to the winner of the national popular
vote. New Jersey joined the compact on Jan. 13. According to the 1968
Electoral College results, the closest the United States has ever come
to abolishing the Electoral College happened during the 91st Congress.

Rep.
Emanuel Celler, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary
Committee, introduced House Joint Resolution 681, which was an
amendment to the Constitution that would have abolished the Electoral
College. After much debate, the amendment died when the 91st Congress
ended on Jan. 3, 1971.

The Electoral College system of electing a
president and vice president is rooted in a history of prejudice, is
obsolete, undemocratic, and should be abolished.

Times have
changed since the origin of the Electoral College. Today there are
political parties. Civil rights movements have largely contributed to
making all citizens eligible to vote. Every citizen is entitled to
vote. The majority of votes should determine the president and vice
president of the United States. Each citizen's vote would really be
counted, which is the fair and democratic way.

"Be Counted"
columnist Louise Riscalla is a resident of Edison. "Be Counted"
columnists are members of the public. Their opinions are not those of
the Home News Tribune.